Hello, I'm Cory

Making complex products easier to understand.

I work acrossProduct Designer

I'm a product designer with experience across SaaS, frontend development, and teaching. I focus on clearer journeys, lower friction, and interfaces people can trust quickly.

I enjoy working on products where complexity has started to get in the way of users. My role is usually to untangle the workflow and make the interface feel obvious again.

View work Download CV

6+ years

Designing SaaS products and digital tools

Former UX/UI Lead

Driving product clarity and system thinking

Teaching experience

A constant reminder to design for real people

About

I'm a product designer who enjoys making complicated things easier to use.

Over the last six years I've worked across SaaS products, frontend development, and UX leadership. I like working closely with product managers and engineers to turn messy workflows and vague requirements into something users can actually understand.

Before returning to product design, I spent time teaching in the classroom. Teaching reinforced something product design often forgets: people don't all read instructions the same way, process information the same way, or navigate systems at the same pace.

That perspective still shapes how I design today. I focus on making products clearer, calmer, and easier for real users to trust.

Principles

Clarity before cleverness

Design for real behaviour, not ideal users

Systems that scale

Accessibility from the start

How I Work

A simple product design approach shaped by research, systems thinking, and close collaboration.

Understand the problem

User interviews, analytics, and stakeholder conversations to identify where users are getting stuck.

Simplify the system

Mapping journeys, clarifying hierarchy, and reducing unnecessary complexity.

Design with implementation in mind

Working closely with engineers so improvements ship as real product changes, not just mockups.

What I Enjoy Working On

Products where complexity has started to get in the way of users.

Interfaces that need stronger hierarchy and clearer information flow.

Platforms where analytics and user research can guide meaningful improvements.

Work

A few examples of how I approach product design.

Simplifying journeys, tightening workflows, and improving how products feel to use.

Product design/UX systems/Editorial presentation/Interaction detail

Product Design, UX, Visual Design

SaaS Platform Redesign

A redesign focused on clearer workflows, better adoption, and a more scalable interface system.

RoleProduct Design, UX, Visual Design

FocusJourney redesign, analytics-driven discovery, design system

OutcomeThe result is a calmer, more legible product direction that reduces friction, improves orientation, and creates stronger foundations for ongoing growth.

Product DesignUXVisual Design

2025 / Placeholder

View case study

The result is a calmer, more legible product direction that reduces friction, improves orientation, and creates stronger foundations for ongoing growth.

UX Strategy, Journey Design

UX Journey Improvement

A service and product journey concept built around friction reduction, better wayfinding, and more confident task completion.

RoleUX Strategy, Journey Design

FocusJourney redesign, wayfinding, service flow

OutcomeThe proposed direction improves flow, lowers ambiguity, and makes the product feel more supportive at each stage of the journey.

UX StrategyJourney MappingService Design

2025 / Placeholder

View case study

The proposed direction improves flow, lowers ambiguity, and makes the product feel more supportive at each stage of the journey.

UX Design, Accessibility, Learning Design

Inclusive Learning Experience

A concept showing how accessible structure, scaffolded information, and inclusive thinking can shape a stronger learning experience.

RoleUX Design, Accessibility, Learning Design

FocusAccessibility, information hierarchy, learning flow

OutcomeThe resulting concept balances structure and warmth, helping the experience feel more accessible without losing ambition or visual quality.

AccessibilityEdTechLearning Design

2025 / Placeholder

View case study

Inclusive Learning Experience showcase image

The resulting concept balances structure and warmth, helping the experience feel more accessible without losing ambition or visual quality.

Inclusive Learning Experience detail image

Product Design, Brand, Visual Systems

Product and Brand Concept

A hybrid concept exploring the meeting point between digital product clarity and a more expressive visual identity system.

RoleProduct Design, Brand, Visual Systems

FocusVisual systems, product identity, interface clarity

OutcomeIt creates a more unified product and brand story, giving the work a stronger sense of identity without sacrificing usability.

Brand SystemsProduct DesignVisual Direction

2025 / Placeholder

View case study

It creates a more unified product and brand story, giving the work a stronger sense of identity without sacrificing usability.

Experience

Product design, frontend development, and teaching.

Where I've worked and what I've focused on across product design, frontend development, and teaching.

Teacher of Design and Technology

Thrybergh Academy

June 2025 – Present

Apply UX thinking in live educational environments shaped by clarity, accessibility, and structure.
Design learning experiences for a wide range of students, including SEND learners.
Reduce cognitive load through sequencing, scaffolding, and clearer information architecture.
Use performance data and behavioural feedback to refine how information is understood.
Communicate complex ideas clearly to students, parents, and senior leaders.

Initial Teacher Training

Winterhill School, Placement A / Ecclesfield School, Placement B

September 2024 – May 2025

Designed and delivered curriculum-aligned lessons across placement schools.
Iterated quickly based on observation, coaching, and classroom feedback.
Developed a more disciplined clarity-first approach to instructional and experience design.

UX/UI Lead

FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics

May 2023 – May 2024

Defined and implemented a platform-wide UX vision aligned to product strategy.
Led continuous discovery through client interviews, usability testing, and behavioural analytics.
Used Pendo, FullStory, and Google Analytics to find friction and tighten key journeys.
Reduced support tickets and bug reports through targeted UX improvements.
Improved feature adoption and engagement through iterative, evidence-led changes.
Led the move from a legacy UI toward a scalable component-based design system.
Mentored two graduate developers and pushed user-centred thinking deeper into the team.
Contributed directly to roadmap conversations alongside the Head of Product.

Software Developer

FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics

July 2021 – May 2023

Designed and built SaaS features across web and tablet products.
Worked closely with product and engineering in agile delivery, moving between UX decisions and implementation.
Shipped UX improvements as working product, not just Figma files.

Frontend Developer

Databowl

January 2021 – July 2021

Moved deeper into hands-on frontend delivery, translating interface decisions into shipped web experiences.
Strengthened the development side of my practice in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React.
Built technical realism, tighter collaboration, and fewer handoff gaps into my design approach.

UX/UI Designer & Developer

SoloProtect UK

November 2019 – January 2021

Worked across UX, UI, and development, helping close the gap between concept work and implementation.
Focused on making digital experiences clearer, more trustworthy, and easier to navigate.
Moved beyond visual design into broader product thinking and delivery.

UX/UI Designer

Databowl Ltd

Before November 2019

Started shaping interfaces, flows, and visual systems for digital products early in my career.
Turned a graphic design background into a more strategic UX practice.
Built the visual discipline I still bring into product work.

Discovery & Research

User interviewsUsability testingJourney mappingStakeholder workshopsSurvey designContinuous discovery

Analytics & Insights

PendoFullStoryGoogle AnalyticsIntercomAdoption analysisSupport trend analysis

Design Systems & Frontend

FigmaComponent-based systemsHTMLCSSJavaScript ES6 / TypeScriptReactPython

Education

BA Graphic Design, User Experience, First Class Honours, Sheffield Hallam University

PGCE Secondary Design and Technology

Curriculum vitae

Download the full CV if you want the formal version, but the short version is simple: I design clearly, work commercially, and understand users beyond the idealised version in a deck.

Download CV

Writing